When the Moon Cries
by HikariFighter
Summary: Still staying at Gibbs' house recovering from the last case, Tony talks with Gibbs about how the two met two years ago in Baltimore. Raiting may change
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer: I still don't own a thing (why, oh why?!), nothing has changed these last weeks._

_When the Moon Cries_

**Prologue**

**Baltimore, 0.14 AM 9****th**** June**

The moon shone through the small window of the cell where a man sat. The man, dark-skinned and sleepy-eyed, looked out, sighing at the thought that he would be out in so little time.

A guard walked by and the man walked up to the bars that separated the two men.

"Hey…" the man said to the guard, but said guard acted as if he hadn't heard the convict. "Hey!"

"What do what now, Smith?" the guard snapped. "Another Playboy?"

"Nah, I still got the last one." Smith grinned. "Come here, will ya?"

"I'm not _that_ stupid."

"Hey, Andersen!" The guard turned around and looked down and even Smith saw another guard standing on the other floor. "I'm leaving for the night. You think you can handle this?"

"'Course, if I don't, I have this baby…" Andersen answered and placed his hand on his gun. "To handle things."

"'Kay, call me if anything comes up!"

Smith could hear the door open and close and before Andersen could react, Smith grabbed the guard's neck through the bars and with a snapping sound, broke his neck. The now dead body fell down on the floor and Smith took the keys that always were around the man's belt; Smith had been observing the other man for a month now, he knew everything there was to know. Locking the door up, Smith simply walked out of the prison, ignoring the calls from the other inmates, asking him to release them as well.

Once outside, Smith sat down on a rock. He was just outside of Baltimore and it would be pretty easy to get back into town. And then, it was an easy ride to get his revenge, the revenge he had been craving for the last two years. That sweet revenge _would_ be his and he was going to enjoy it.

He was going to find, and kill in the most brutal way he could imagine, Detective Anthony DiNozzo.

_Authoress' note: Yay! I'm back with more NCIS action! Everyone happy to see me? It's been like hell over here and now before Christmas break, every teacher is planning tests and exams and God knows what… But I'll try to find the time to post this new story as fast as I can get the time! So, happy reading, and don't forget my reviews :-D_


	2. Finding out

_Reviews: Okay, all of you get the same answer since 1, I'm too tired to write them all and 2, all of them sounded almost the same :-) Anyway, THANK YOU!!!! I'm glad that everyone liked it (or so it seemed). I think I'll continue posting each Friday afternoon since that is the best option for me, sorry everyone :-( But, hey, I'll finish the story! Gotta give me credit for that, eh?_

_Disclaimer in prologue_

**Chapter 1, Finding out**

**Gibbs' house, the living room, 5.30 PM 10****th**** June**

One week had passed since Tony was released from the hospital. One week that seemed like an eternity if you was stuck doing nothing at Gibbs' place. At least he didn't have to walk with the crutch anymore. But he still had his arm in a sling, much to Tony's displeasure.

Sitting on the sofa and watching TV, Tony chewed on a slice of pizza as he waited for Gibbs to come back from NCIS. Gibbs wanted to stay with the younger man until he got better, but he couldn't leave the office. Gibbs said that there was another case on and that Kate and McGee couldn't handle it by their own.

As Tony took another slice, he heard the door open. Grinning to himself, Tony turned his head around. "Hey, honey." Tony said amused. "How was work?"

"Can it, DiNozzo." Gibbs said as he sat down next to Tony and took a slice of the pizza. "Just because you're on a sick-leave doesn't mean I can't hit you."

"Bad day, huh…" Tony said and took the remote to the TV to change the channel. "Did the store run out of coffee? Or did McGee get the wrong kind?"

"DiNozzo…"

"Oh, I know!" Tony said. "He _spilled_ it!"

SLAP!

"I warned you, DiNozzo." Gibbs said with his mouth full of pizza. Swallowing, he continued. "Leave it here; I want to watch the news."

"You're the boss." Tony said and threw the TV-remote away. "Any sign of Leila yet?"

The question came out of nowhere. Gibbs didn't really know what to answer the younger man. Leila, Martin Jensen's accomplice, the woman who had helped Jensen track down Tony's sister, was nowhere to be found. "Not yet…" Gibbs said, not really knowing what to say. "They're searching for her."

Tony sighed deep and as he leaned back into the sofa, a man appeared on the TV-screen.

'_This just in; Marcus Smith has escaped from jail.'_

As he heard what the news reporter said, Tony seemed to choke on his pizza slice. Gibbs raised his hand and started to pat Tony on his back. Because of Tony's coughing, neither of the men could hear what the news reporter said. Gibbs gave Tony a strong slap on the back and a small piece of sausage flew out. Turning back to the TV, Gibbs saw that the news reporter was gone from the screen and another man stood there talking about the weather. Gibbs looked back to Tony, whose face seemed to have been drained from blood. Looking back at his boss, Tony sighed. "Oh, shit…"

_Authoress' note: Okay, second chapter done. I know, it sucks when I get you to wait so long time (a week!!) and then I post this tiny, boring chapter, but that's what I got for today! Tell you what; when I get back to school on Monday, I'll post the next chapter. Yay? Everybody happy? Well, in that I'll compensate you for these two shorties. :-D_

_And I just noticed that I got the wrong name for Leila in the ending of NACT, when Tony called her Lydia. To avoid confusion, I felt it was necessary to explain that it's LEILA! Not Lydia!_


	3. First impression screwup

_Authoress' note: As promised, here's the next chapter!_

_And thanks for all the criticism; a young authoress like me needs that stuff. And since I'm new, I don't really get what a 'beta reader' is. Could anyone explain so I could improve?_

_Okay, this chapter is like 90% flashbacks, but you know when it's present day and flashback._

_And some of you have missed that this is a follow-up from my previous story, NACT. It is really important that you read that one since this is a series and it'll continue so everything counts. If you haven't read NACT, read it now! There you can see that (in my version) Tony has a sister, which many of you have commented._

_Disclaimer in prologue_

**Chapter 2, First impression screw-up**

**Gibbs' house, the living room, 5.40 PM 10****th**** June**

Gibbs stood up, causing the pizza-box to fall down on the floor. As he went to the door, he looked it once, twice, thrice with all the locks on the door. After pulling the curtains, Gibbs got back to Tony, still sitting on the sofa, face pale.

"Get up." Gibbs said. "We're going down to the basement."

"Boss…"

"Wasn't asking, DiNozzo." Gibbs interrupted by pulling the younger man up from the sofa and went down the stairs that led to the basement. Once there, Gibbs placed Tony on the bench under the unfinished boat.

"Boss!" Tony tried again as Gibbs went up locked the door to the basement. "We don't have to go into hiding 'cuz of him!"

"Remember the last person you pissed off, DiNozzo?" Gibbs said.

"Yeah, that would probably be that nurse at the hospital…" Tony started but was silenced by Gibbs' glare. The older man sat down next to Tony. They sat in silent for a couple of minutes. Tony was the one to break it.

"You know, that's kind of how we met!" Not paying attention, Gibbs turned around. "What is?"

"You know, you being all grumpy and dragging me off somewhere?" Tony said.

_**Flashback, Baltimore, two years ago**_

Gibbs stood by a car wreck, looking down at the two men in the car. Both of the men had been shot twice, one of them was dressed in a sailor suit. Sipping on his coffee, Gibbs sighed. It was too early to be investigating murders; it was 3.45 AM.

As Gibbs stood there watching the two dead men, he was approached by an older man, pretty fat and a mustache covering most of his face.

"Who are you and what the _hell_ are you doing here?" the man asked, looking as if he was ready to blow up or something like that. "Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS." Gibbs explained and showed his badge to the man. "And you are?"

"I'm Captain Stern of Baltimore PD."

"These are two dead sailors, Captain Stern." Gibbs said. "That's NCIS jurisdiction."

"They're in my territory." Stern said. "That makes it _my_ jurisdiction!"

Trying to stare each other to death, Gibbs and Stern were suddenly approached by a younger man. He seemed to be in his mid twenties and even though it was an early morning, the younger man looked as fresh as if it would have been noon.

Looking from Stern to Gibbs, the younger man raised his hands. "You know, we could sha…"

"Shut it, DiNozzo!" Stern snapped. "I don't care in which movie you saw it in; we are _not_ sharing jurisdiction with feds!"

"He's got a point, Captain." A new man stepped in to the conversation. The new man seemed to be about thirty, blond hair and green eyes, eyes that seemed to pierce a soul in a single stare. "We're too short to investigate. So sharing jurisdiction _is_ the best option." Stern growled low, heck, it didn't even sound as if he was growling; it sounded like he was about to throw up. "Why are you always siding with DiNozzo, Jenkins?" Stern said. "He's green; he doesn't know what he's talking about."

"I'm not _green_!" DiNozzo said, seeming rather upset about the last comment. "I've worked here for two years."

"And that's a personal record…" Stern mumbled. Before DiNozzo could respond, Gibbs interrupted the three arguing men. "If sharing with you is the only way I'll get to investigate…" Gibbs said and stared at Stern. "We'll share jurisdiction."

Once again, Stern growled his puke-growl. "Fine…" Turning back to Jenkins and DiNozzo, Stern raised his finger. "You two work with him, and we'll see how you like it!" As Stern left, Jenkins hung his head. "Might as well get this over with…" he mumbled and turned towards Gibbs. "I'm Detective Jonathan Jenkins, BPD. And that…" he said, pointing towards DiNozzo. "…is…"

"I can introduce myself!" DiNozzo interrupted. "Detective Anthony DiNozzo, nice to…" DiNozzo reached out his hand towards Gibbs, but as he did so, he accidentally spilled Gibbs' coffee. The coffee-mug fell down on the ground and the hot coffee was spilled all over Gibbs' shoes. The older man narrowed his eyes and looked at DiNozzo who realized his mistake. "Oh sh… Sorry, Sir." DiNozzo started. "I'll…"

"It's Gibbs." Gibbs interrupted. Wiping the coffee of his shoes, Gibbs turned his attention to Jenkins. "You got everything we need?"

"Yes, Special Agent Gibbs." Jenkins answered. "We have the statement from the man who found the car and the two men are being brought into Baltimore."

"Make sure the bodies are brought to NCIS." Gibbs said. "I want my own M.E to perform the autopsy."

"Sure, Special Agent Gibbs."

"And when you're done, get to the Naval Yard in D.C."

"Okay, Special Agent Gibbs."

"And enough with the 'Special Agent'!" Gibbs said and stood up. "It's Gibbs."

"Gotcha."

"Now, get going!"

As Jenkins left, Gibbs turned back to DiNozzo. The younger man avoided the other man's eyes. Gibbs, too tired to bark and be a bastard, walked past DiNozzo and just as he passed the younger man, grabbed the collar of his shirt and dragged him along.

"What… Hey… Get… Get off…" DiNozzo stuttered.

"Don't think you're getting out of work just 'cuz you spilled my coffee." Gibbs said. "You're going with me to D.C."

As Gibbs and DiNozzo reached Gibbs' car, Gibbs pushed the younger man into the backseat and closed the door after him. After getting behind the wheel, Gibbs put the pedal to the metal. Hearing the car scream, Jenkins turned around just to see the car turn around the corner at incredible speed, incredibly _bad_ speed. He couldn't really tell which was louder; the tires of the car that screeched or DiNozzo's screams.

_**End flashback, present day**_

"That was actually not fun, boss."

"It was for me, hearing you scream like that."

"…You're weird, boss, that was just freaky."

Still sitting in Gibbs' basement, the two agents kept talking about that early morning.

"I'm freaky?" Gibbs said laughing. "If you though _I_ was freaky, I don't even want to know how you felt about Abby when you met her the first time."

_**Flashback, two years ago**_

**NCIS Headquarters, the Bullpen, 4.57 AM**

Arriving about an hour after Gibbs and Tony, Jonathan walked into the Bullpen, soaking wet from the rain that had started the minute he stepped out of his car. The other two was there, working. Tony, looking slightly green, sat at the desk almost in front of Gibbs', completely silent.

'_Hah, Tony has been shut up!'_ Jonathan thought as he walked up to Gibbs. _'Never thought anyone could make him quiet.'_

"Here's the statement." Jonathan said and dropped a bunch of papers on Gibbs' desk. "The car is downstairs and the bodies arrived at the same time as I did; they're probably on your M.E's table as we speak."

"Good work, Jonathan." Gibbs said as he looked through the papers. "You…" the older man said and pointed at Tony without taking his eyes from the papers. "Try to find out anything you can about the car. And you…" Gibbs now pointed at Jonathan. "Try to find out if any sailors have gone missing the last days." Jonathan sat down at the desk to Gibbs' right side, in front of Tony, and began typing at the computer and Tony did the same.

A couple of minutes later, the elevator made its noise and the doors opened. Out came NCIS's medical examiner and forensic scientist, Doctor Donald 'Ducky' Mallard and Abby Sciuto.

"Hey, boss-man!" Abby greeted as she entered the Bullpen. The young Goth wasn't wearing her usual black Goth clothes; she was dressed as something that reminded Gibbs of a vampire mixed with a dragon, her black and red make-up completely messed up by the rain.

"Hey, Abs." Gibbs answered. "Another masquerade-party? What the heck are you dressed as now?"

"A Vampragon." Abby answered excited. "It is a half vampire bat and half dragon. Cool, huh?"

"Vampra, what?" Tony asked. Both Ducky and Abby turned against him, looking at him for some seconds, then turning to look at Jonathan.

"Jethro…" Ducky said as he finished surveying the two detectives. "Who are our guests?"

"Detectives Jenkins and DiNozzo from Baltimore PD." Gibbs answered. "We'll be sharing jurisdiction with them."

"Nice to meet you." Jonathan said and offered his hand to them. Tony, on the other hand, seemed to be in a trance, unable to take his eyes of the red tail on Abby's but. The young Goth noticed this and put her hand on her hips and glared at the other man.

"Something wrong with my tail?" she asked growling. Before Abby could release the rest of her anger, Gibbs interrupted. "Duck, you have two bodies on your table, get going. Abby, go and try to get an ID on our victims." Both Ducky and Abby did as they were told, the Goth still glaring at Tony. "And you two…" This time the order was directed to Tony and Jonathan. "Get back to work!"

_**End flashback, present day**_

"Yeah, she freaked me out a bit. Thanks for saving me, by the way." Tony said.

"Saving you?! I just didn't want to clean up the mess after you." Gibbs answered.

"Ha-ha, really funny, boss."

"I'm not kidding, DiNozzo; she _would've_ killed you without any forensic evidence."

"Oh… I wouldn't want to piss her of again."

They sat in silent again, Gibbs keeping an eye on the door to the rest of the house and Tony listening for something. After about a minute, Tony broke the silence. "It's really quiet up there."

"We're not going back up." Gibbs said sternly.

"Could you at least get my pizza? I'm hungry."

_Authoress' note: Ha-ha! Tony and his pizzas. :-D I'll try to compensate you for the two one-page chapters in the beginning so here's a really long one; five pages! :-O But they may become longer, what do I know? Well, see ya soon! Oh, and Vampragon isn't mine; I borrowed it from _Adventure Quest_, an online game I play :-D_


	4. Mobsters in Baltimore

_Authoress' note: Okay, all your complaints are getting to me! Read NACT and stop complaining! If I get one more review saying Tony doesn't have a sister, I'll put this story on hiatus until I think it's fit to start posting again. IS THAT CLEAR?!_

_Disclaimer in prologue_

**Chapter 3, Mobsters in Baltimore**

Growing tired of Tony's nagging and whining, Gibbs had given in to his demands about bringing his pizza downstairs. So, after a quick search to see if anyone had been able to sneak in to his house, Gibbs had pleased a (apparently) _very_ hungry Tony.

So now, the two men was sitting under the boat again, eating pizza and they went back to talking about that case in Baltimore two years ago.

_**Flashback, two years ago**_

**NCIS Headquarters, Autopsy, 6.31 AM**

"You got something for me, Duck?" Gibbs said as he entered the Autopsy. Ducky was in the middle of the autopsy. _Literally_ in the middle of it.

"Well, I took some prints from our dear lads; Abby should be able to get an ID." Ducky said.

"TOD and COD?"

"Time of death is still uncertain; it could be anytime between 1.30 and 2.45 AM this morning." Ducky sighed. "Cause of death, Jethro, is different depending on our two victims. This young man…" Ducky pointed at the body that was lying on the table next to him that Ducky apparently was done with. "Was killed by the two bullets in his brain."

"Duh…" Gibbs mumbled sarcastically and Ducky ignored him.

"And this one I'm not so sure of, since I'm not completely done with him. It _might_ be because of a crushed scull due to the impact and it _might_ be something else."

"Call me when you're positive."

"Will do, Jethro."

**NCIS Headquarters, Abby's Lab, 6.33 AM**

The music was on top volume as usual when Gibbs entered Abby's lab. The young Goth still had her Vampragon-outfit on, her dark-grey wings hanging down from her back and her tail dragging on the floor.

"Got anything for me, Abs?" Gibbs asked, making Abby startle.

"Gibbs!" she exclaimed. "Don't do that!"

"I'll stop if you got something for me." Gibbs said. "And maybe I'll throw in a _CafPow_."

"Then it's a deal, Gibbs." Abby said and returned to her computer. "I got ID: s on both our guys; the first guy, who got shot in the head…" Abby said and a picture was shown on her computer-screen. "Is Simon Petersen, a lieutenant stationed in Gitmo, but is on a two weeks-leave."

"The other guy?" Gibbs asked as wrote down what Abby just had told him.

"I'm not sure yet; he's pretty hard to find."

Nodding to himself, Gibbs leaned over and gave Abby a kiss on the cheek. "Call me when you know, okay?"

"Of course, oh you great one." Abby said with a smile. "_If_ you bring me a CafPow."

"I'll send someone down with it." Gibbs said as he turned to head towards the elevator.

"Whatever you do, don't send the new guy!" Abby called after him.

"Who?"

"The one who stared at my but!"

**NCIS Headquarters, the Bullpen, 6.37 AM**

"Simon Petersen?!"

Gibbs had just finished telling what Abby and Ducky had found out and the two detectives had reacted in a strange way.

"Simon… Petersen…" Jonathan said again, slowly this time. "_The_ Simon Petersen?"

"What's so special about Simon Petersen?" Gibbs asked.

"He's the son of Michael Petersen." Jonathan said. "The boss of the 'Night Sky'."

"Night Sky? The mafia-family?" Tony asked.

"The one and only." Jonathan answered in a gruff voice. "Baltimore PD has been trying to bring them in a _long_ time, long before you started working there, Tony."

"But why kill off his son? And who?" Tony asked.

"The 'Unknowns'." Jonathan and Gibbs answered in one voice.

"Eh?" Confused, Tony looked between Jonathan and Gibbs.

"The Night Sky's sworn enemy." Gibbs answered. "The Unknowns has been our prime suspects in a couple of cases before where naval officers stationed in Baltimore have gone missing."

"And let me guess…" Jonathan said as if he was amused. "You couldn't bring 'em in?"

"No." Gibbs sighed. "Couldn't even touch them."

"There must be some way we could bring them in." Jonathan said.

"I'm open for suggestions." Gibbs said and sat down at his desk. "It's close to impossible get near them."

"Maybe…" Jonathan started but fell silent again.

"What?" Gibbs encouraged.

"Maybe there's something at the crime scene, a note or something." Jonathan said. "I mean, he was the don's son."

"And killing his son without letting him know who did it doesn't make sense." Gibbs added.

"Could we bring some breakfast with us on the way there? I'm starving." Tony said and both Jonathan and Gibbs stared at the other detective. "What? I haven't said anything for a while!"

**The Crime Scene, Baltimore, 7 AM**

"Spread out, make sure you wipe the whole place clean!"

Once again at the crime scene, the three men carefully examined the crime scene and the surrounding area. As nothing was found and both Jonathan and Gibbs were close to giving up, Tony called, "Over here!"

Standing over what would have been the place where the car had been earlier that morning; Tony took up a small piece of paper with his gloved hand. As the two other men arrived next to him, the youngest man unfolded it. It had been ripped in half and al they could read was:

_When the Moon cries…_

_Authoress' note: Well, there you go! And as I said up there; I don't want any other complaint about Tony not having a sister!_


	5. Getting closer

_Disclaimer in prologue_

_Authoress' note: Okay, I overreacted in the last chapter, but some of you may understand my frustration. Anyway, if you haven't read NACT, read it before you continue reading this._

**Chapter 4, Getting closer**

**NCIS ****Headquarters****, 7.30 AM**

"'When the Moon cries'… What does it mean?"

The team arrived back at the Naval Yard shortly after their newestdiscovery (thanks to Gibbs' insane driving). Now, they were sitting at their respective desks, trying to figure out what the note meant.

"Maybe it's a codename?" Tony offered, chewing on a sandwich that the team had bought on the way back. Taking a sip of his Coke, he continued, "Maybe Moon's an Unknown?"

"Or…" Jonathan said. "Moon could be a real name, an Asian fellow in town."

"And we don't know which of the options it is," Gibbs said. "The rest of the note would have been a great help…"

"We could see if we could find out anything about it at the station," Tony said, his mouth (again) full with food.

"Not a chance in Hell," Jonathan said. "Stern's probably pissed at us for helping out here and not at the station."

"He was the one who told us to come here," Tony replied. "And I don't have anything left to do at the station."

"Did you write a report on the last case?" Jonathan asked. Before Tony could answer, the older detective continued, "And the case before that? Did you…"

"Alright, alright, I got your point already!" Tony snapped.

"And, I suppose, that means no."

Tony made a face and started to resume speaking, but Gibbs interrupted him. "Can you, or can you not, get something at the station?"

"Well, we could…" Jonathan said.

"Then do it!" Gibbs ordered.

"I'm not doing it!" the two detectives said at the same time. They stared at each other, until Tony said, "Rock, paper, scissors?"

"You're on," Jonathan said withanod, holding out his hand. "Best two out of three."

Gibbs rolled his eyes and sighed as the two _grown_ men began their little 'competition'.

Jonathan won the first round; Tony had scissors and Jonathan rock. The next round was Tony's, as he took Jonathan's rock with some paper. Jonathan won the last round.

"Hah!" Jonathan exclaimed. "You go to Stern!"

Tony, pouting, said, "But he doesn't even _like_ me!"

"You should've thought of that before you decided to try your luck against _me_," Jonathan mocked.

"Like you're so good at it; it's a matter of sheer luck!"

"Enough!" Gibbs barked. "Get to the station, find what you can, and get back here ASAP!"

Tony got up and, mumbling something about Jonathan cheating, left for the elevator. Just as the doors were about to close, Jonathan called, "Don't tell him anything about what we've found out; it'll most likely piss him off!"

As the doors closed, the last Gibbs and Jonathan saw of the other man was his pouting face.

**Baltimore PD, Baltimore, ****8 AM**

Tony sneaked inside the Baltimore Police Building as quietly as he could, soasnot to disturb Stern. He made his way over to his working station, opened his computer, and dialed Jonathan's number. It was picked up after one ring.

'_Jenkins.'_

"I'm in," Tony said simply.

'_Right, wait a minute, I'll put __you__ on speaker...'_ A second later, Gibbs' voice was heard. _'You got anything?_

Looking through the database, Tony discovered one name that occurred a lot of times in old reports dealing with possible Unknown interference.

"There's one name here that's been involved a couple of times; Marcus Smith." Tony said and pulled up his file. "Marcus Smith, male, 34 years old, last known address is here in Baltimore." He pressed PRINT, and soon, a bunch of papers were in his hands. "I got all the reports about the Night Sky, the Unknowns and this Smith guy."

'_Nice job, Tony.'_ Jonathan said. _'Now get back here before…'_

"DiNozzo!!"

"Oops…" Tony whispered into the phone.

'_Busted…'_ Jonathanintonedominously.

Shutting of his computer, Tony walked as quickly as he could, crouching so he wouldn't be seen by Stern, and left the station. As he closed the door behind him, Stern's call echoed again.

"DiNozzo, get back here!!"

Opening the door to his car, Tony sat down behind the wheel and drove back to D.C.

Unknown to him, a car followed. In the front seat sat a dark-skinned man, looking between the driving car and the fat man running on the sideway, and screamed something at the man in the car in the front.

_Authoress' note: Ooooooo, now they're getting somewhere!_

_And a million thanks and hugs to Achilles-Eel for beta'ing! Thanks so much!!_


	6. Undercover Mafia

_Disclaimer in prologue_

**Chapter 5, Undercover Mafia**

**8:30 A.M., NCIS ****Headquarters****.**

"Marcus Ivan Smith, 34 years old, suspected of being involved with a dozen cases where both the Night Sky and the Unknowns were involved. Baltimore PD suspects that he is a member of the Unknowns because of his connections; most of his relatives have been involved with Unknown activity. His last known address is in Downtown Baltimore, but it has been abandoned since last month."

When Tony had returned, the three men had begun to investigate the possibility that the new man was somehow involved with the case. Abby, being quite bored, sat at Gibbs' desk, doing nothing, but giving some comments about… Well, nothing in particular.

"-He has no living family and a _lot_ of criminal history," Jonathan continued, reading out loud from the newly fetched report. "Everything from small store robberies in his youth, to Grand Theft Auto."

"The game?" Abby asked, excited. No one answered her.

"Are there any possible with our case?" Gibbs asked.

"Well…" Jonathan said quietly, looking through the papers. "All that has been somewhat proven is that he's been missing an alibi whenever the police brought him in for interrogation."

"Then why didn't you take him in?" Gibbs asked.

"Because he's got the best lawyers available!" Jonathan exclaimed. "It was impossible to keep him at the station for more than an hour!" Jonathan, apparently outraged, threw the papers on his desk. The reports landed on the desk with a silent _thud_ and Jonathan sat back down. "I've had _so_ many chances to bring him in," the older detective said with a sigh, placing his head in his hands.

Tony threw away his now empty bottle of Coke and straightened in his chair. "Who knows, Jon, this time we might be able to get him." He pointed towards Gibbs. "With his help, we could find a way to prove him guilty. Or he'll just add some luck." He said with a smirk.

Gibbs, somewhat irritated by Tony's last comment, stood up and took the reports, rolled them up and smacked Tony on the top of his head with them. Tony winced and Gibbs dropped them and went over to his desk to sit down… only to discover that Abby had occupied his chair. The young forensic specialist smiled up at Gibbs, the kind of smile you would get from a five-year-old if said child had just eaten candy before dinner. Gibbs laughed silently and turned to Jonathan.

"Is he any good?" Gibbs asked, pointing at Tony.

"Well, he has his moments," Jonathan replied. "Though they are rare."

Tony mumbled something to himself and started to look through the reports that Gibbs had left on his desk. Suddenly, his eyes grew wide. "I think I found something!"

Both Jonathan and Gibbs shot over to Tony's desk, Jonathan almost knocked over his chair in the progress. Tony placed the reports on his desk and began typing on his computer. The next second, a map showing Downtown Baltimore was shown on the big screen in the middle of the Bullpen.

"This is Smith's last known address, right?" Tony said and pointed at a spot on the map. "It's been abandoned since last month."

"We haven't forgotten about that, Tony," Jonathan said pointedly. Tony ignored him.

"And if you look at the few witness' reports we have, most of the crimes that we can _prove_ happened, occurred around here…" Tony pointed at a spot on the map, barely a few blocks from Smith's last known address.

"What are you getting at?" Gibbs asked curiously.

"What if this place-" again, Tony pointed at Smith's former home, "-is the Unknowns headquarters?"

It took a moment for Jonathan to connect what Tony had just said. When it finally clicked, he exclaimed, "Tony DiNozzo, you're a genius!" and embraced the younger detective hard. Tony seemed to gasp for air, but he could still make out the words, "Well… I have my moments, don't I?" Jonathan smiled, and let him go.

"So…" Gibbs said. "What do we do now?

Saying nothing, Tony simply grinned. Jonathan threw his head back and mumbled, "Oh, no, not that grin…"

"What if-" he began.

"No!" Jonathan interrupted. "No, no, no! Don't even think about it."

"-One of us-"

"You're thinking of it! Don't. Stop that!"

"-Go there?"

"Not a chance in Hell, Tony!" Jonathan said with a glare.

"Come on, think about it!" Tony exclaimed earnestly. "That's the only way we'll be able to get to the Unknowns."

"_If_ that place is in fact the Unknowns headquarters…" Jonathan corrected. "They'll know who we are when we go there."'

"What if I go there?" Tony asked.

"Are you stupid?!" Jonathan and Gibbs shouted in one voice.

"Jon, if you go there, they'll see a veteran* cop…"

"Veteran?! I'm not that old!" Jonathan said.

"And if Sir Slaps-a-lot goes…" Tony said and pointed towards Gibbs with his thumb. "He won't know what to do." Grinning again, Tony leaned across his desk, looking Jonathan in his eyes. "Downtown's my area. I know it like the back of my hand. If anyone goes..." He straightened in his chair. "I should be the one."

"You'll get caught, Tony!" Jonathan said.

"If they know about me, they'll probably also know my frequent moving between stations." Tony said. "If I say I've left the station, they'll probably take my word."

"Well, what if they don't?" Gibbs asked. "I won't let you throw yourself into a suicide mission like that."

"If they see through it, I'll run, okay?" Tony said placatingly. "Besides, if I get the right person, I'll be able to trick him."

Gibbs turned to Jonathan. "Well?"

Jonathan sighed deep. "Well, he _does_ have him moments…" He sighed again. "I am _so_ going to regret this…"

**9:00 A.M.,**** Downtown Baltimore, the Unknowns' possible headquarters****.**

Sneaking down a back alley behind a restaurant, Tony pulled out his phone and dialed Jonathan's number. As always, it was picked up after the first ring.

'_Jenkins.'_

"I'm here. Where should I go?"

'_I still don't think this is a good idea, Tony,'_ Jonathan said. _'If you get caught or anything, by God, I'll make sure you're stuck with desk duty __for the next century__!'_

"Empty threats, Jon. Now, where am I going?" A sigh was heard on the other end.

'_You should see it; it's a big building right in front of you.'_

Tony looked around. There were _a lot_ of big buildings in front of him.

"Great advice, Jonathan, could you be a little more specific?"

'_We'll guide you; we see where you're going __on__ the computer.'_ This time it was Gibbs' voice at the other end. _'Just walk a couple of meters down __the alley__.'_

After some guiding and arguing about what's left and what's right, Tony found himself standing in front of a big building about 15 to 20 stories high**. In front of what seemed to be the entrance, three men stood. Quickly, Tony moved and stood behind a wall, picking up his phone again.

"I'm here."

'_Right, now be careful in there, Tony.'_ Jonathan sounded really worried. _'You probably won't be able to use your phone in there.'_

"Nah, you think?" Tony said sarcastically.

'_Call back immediately when you're out of there, DiNozzo.'_ This time it was Gibbs. _'Get yourself into trouble and I'll-'_

"Right, whatever. See you soon." With that, Tony ended the call and slowly started to walk to the entrance.

**9:13 A.M., NCIS Headquarters.**

"Is he really up for this?" Gibbs asked as Tony ended the call.

"I hope so," Jonathan said, running his hand through his hair roughly. "I don't want to think about what'll happen to him if something goes wrong in there." Placing his head in his hands, Jonathan sighed. "If he's right, though, this might just be the breakthrough we've been waiting for."

_Authoress' note: Well, there it is. Hope you like it; I know I sure did! :-D_

_And, once again, thank you Achilles-eel, for __correcting my (what it seems never-ending) mistakes! :-D_


	7. When the Moon Cries

_Disclaimer in prologue_

**Chapter 6, When the Moon Cries…**

**9.15 AM, Downtown Baltimore**

Tony slowly approached the three men. The first guy was a huge, muscular man with not even one hair on his head. The second guy was smaller than, but still as muscular as, Guy number 1, a hood covered his face so Tony couldn't see anything of him. The third guy was nothing compared to the other two; he was small and fragile looking, a pair of black sunglasses covering his eyes. He was standing in the shadow of the building; his face was the only thing showing in the darkness.

As they saw Tony, Guy number 3 raised his hand. "Stop where you are." Tony froze immediately.

"Aren't you that DiNozzo kid from the station?" asked Guy number 1.

If Tony had been at any other place than a back alley in front of three men whom was (most likely) armed and dangerous, he would have taught them _not_ to call him kid. Swallowing his pride, fear and anger, Tony responded, "So, what if I am?" As soon as his words left his mouth, two guns were pointed at him; Guy number 3 stood in the back, listening intense.

"We don't want any cops here!" said Guy number 1. "So beat it!"

"Hey, listen to me!" Tony said, placing his hands in front of him. "That's why I'm here."

Guy number 1 and Guy number 2 both turned to Guy number 3. The small man, barley a head shorter than Tony, mumbled quietly, "Continue…"

"Well, you see, I, erm…" Tony started. "I want in."

"Why?" Guy number 3 asked, a little louder this time.

"If this place is what I _think_ it is…" Tony said and looked up upon the building they all were standing in front of. "You'll need my help."

"Are you crazy?!" Guy number 1 exploded, grabbing Tony's collar and Tony found himself dangling a few feet above the ground, staring into Guy number 1's red eyes. "If you think we need _your_ help, you're sadly mistaken, pal!"

"Let him down, Paine."

Guy number 3's deep voice echoed in the small alleyway. Paine obeyed, letting Tony go. Tony straightened his jacket before turning to Guy number 3.

"Why would we need you of all people?" Guy number 3 asked. "If we want any cop on our side, we'll have anyone we want."

"Everyone at the station is loyal to Stern." Tony said calmly, not wanting to say anything to anger Paine again; just the sound of his name sends chills down Tony's spine. "Stern only trusts me if I'm six feet below, so I'm the guy for you if you want one at the station."

Guy number 3 fell silent, almost as if he was thinking about it.

'_Yes!'_ Tony thought. _'He's buying it!'_

After about a minute, Guy number 3 resumed speaking. "Can you be trusted?"

Tony grinned. "Heh, 'course I can."

"How do we know we can trust you?" asked Paine.

"How can I prove myself?" Tony asked, grin growing wider.

This time, Guy number 3 smiled. He stepped into the light and Tony was able to get a good look at him. The man had dark skin; he almost seemed to be Hispanic, his eyes, partly covered by his dark hair, were grey.

"You got some guts, kid." Guy number 3 said. "You might just be able to fit in here…"

"Great!" Tony said.

"…if…" Guy number 3 continued. "You go back to your station and delete everything you find on a man named Marcus Smith."

Tony hesitated for a second. Sure, he was trying to get into the Unknowns, but deleting _everything_? But, still, Tony thought, he had just printed the reports that he needed for the investigation.

"Deal." Tony said simple.

"Then go and get back here when you're done." Guy number 3 said. Then he, Guy number 2 and Paine went back into the building, closing the doors after them.

Tony started walking away and as soon as he was out of the Unknowns range, he picked up his phone.

**9.45 AM, NCIS Headquarters**

Jonathan walked impatiently up and down the Bullpen.

"Where is he?!" the young detective asked out loud. "I shouldn't have let him go!"

"Calm down." Gibbs said, sipping at his coffee. _'If I only could get myself to calm down…'_ "He's doing fine; you said he would."

"But what if he…" Jonathan was interrupted by the ring of his phone. Immediately, he picked it up, answering with a, "Jenkins."

"Put it on speaker." Gibbs said, knowing who the caller was. Soon, Tony's voice was heard.

'_Okay, so here's the situation.'_ The young detective sounded a bit stressed. _'They'll let me in if I delete everything the station has on Marcus Smith.'_

"Marcus Smith?" Jonathan asked.

"That must mean we were right about him being involved." Gibbs said.

'_No, you think?'_ Tony said sarcastically. _'Any ideas?'_

"If we _do_ delete it…" Jonathan began but was interrupted by Tony. _'Correction, if _I_ delete it, I'll have Stern up my…'_

"Will you let me finish?" Silence. "Good. If _you_ delete it, we'll have to tell Stern…"

"No." Gibbs said. Both Jonathan and Tony fell silent. "If Stern is informed he'll stop it. He's not to be involved."

"Okay…" Jonathan said, drawing out the A. "So we'll have to do it so he won't notice. Here's what we'll do; Tony meet me at the station and we'll figure something out. Gibbs…" The younger man turned to the Special Agent. "Erm, you want to come with?"

"Someone needs to talk to Petersen." Gibbs said. "It seems that I'm the only one left."

"Great!" Jonathan said. "See you soon, Tony." With that, he hung up on Tony and got over to his desk and grabbed his jacket and a set of keys.

"Be back at eleven o'clock tops." Gibbs said. "If you're away any longer, don't bother coming back."

Jonathan grinned, very similar to Tony's grin. "Heh, I wouldn't dream of it."

"Now why don't I believe that?" Gibbs asked before leaving the Bullpen, heading towards the elevator.

**10.15 AM, Baltimore Police Station**

Once again, Tony sat at his work desk, trying to work in silent so that Stern wouldn't see him. Waiting for Jonathan, he began to open the files about Marcus Smith.

'_Why him?'_ Tony thought. _'What's so special about Marcus Smith that needs to be deleted?'_

Tony's thought were soon interrupted as the door to the station opened. Turning his head, Tony saw the door close. But no one seemed to enter.

'_Eh? What the…'_ Tony thought, slightly confused. A second later, Jonathan's face appeared, surveying the small area of desks. As he saw Tony, his head disappeared again, and moved over to Tony, his back crouched to an impossible angle. As the older man reached the desk, he sunk down; his back leaned against the wall.

"Have you seen Stern?" he asked, gasping for air. He was obviously exhausted.

"Not since I got here." Tony replied. He showed the opened files to Jonathan. "I got them all here. Shall we?" He put his finger on the DELETE-button. Jonathan nodded and the next second, Tony pressed it. Then suddenly, a voice was heard from behind the two detectives.

"DiNozzo… Jenkins… Just _what_ do you think you're doing?"

At the same time, Jonathan and Tony turned back, grinning.

**The Petersen family's mansion, 10.20 AM**

Gibbs car pulled up in front of the mansion. The house, at least four stories, was a way of showing that the inhabitants of the house were rich. _Very_ rich, it seemed.

Walking up to the front door, Gibbs knocked hard on the door. Immediately, it was opened by an older man dressed in a tuxedo.

"May I help you, sir?" the man asked.

"Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS." Gibbs showed the man his badge. "I'm here to see Michael Petersen."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"I got a warrant." Gibbs said and held out a paper. "So, I'd get out of my way if I were you."

"As you wish, sir." The man moved out of the way. As Gibbs stepped in, the man said, "Mr. Petersen is up in his office, working."

"Show me the way." Gibbs ordered.

"Yes, sir."

Petersen's office was on the third floor. It was a big room with a window in the middle, allowing anyone in there a view over the entire city. In the middle of the room, there was a desk. A bunch of papers laid on top of it and a lap top stood opened. A man sat in a chair in front of it, writing. The man was perfectly tanned, his dark hair hanging down in front of his eyes.

"Mr. Petersen?" the man who had showed Gibbs in said. Petersen looked up.

"I told you not to disturb me, Frank."

"I know, sir, but this man requested to see you." Frank gestured towards Gibbs who stood in the doorway, amazed. That office was almost as big as his house back in D.C.

Petersen sighed and got up. "What do you want?"

"A talk." Gibbs said.

Petersen motioned for Frank to leave and he did, silently closing the doors behind him. "About what? Something else you cops want to know about my son's death?"

"Do you know who's responsible?" Gibbs asked.

"Why would I know who did it?" Petersen asked. "Isn't that _your_ job?"

"It would save us a lot of time if you could just tell me who did it."

"Well, I don't so if you would just…"

"What do you know about the Unknowns?"

Gibbs question made the other man freeze. Slowly, Petersen turned around. "Get… out… of my… sight!" he hissed.

"Not until you tell me what's been going on between the Night Sky and the Unknowns."

"Michael!" Petersen called. Soon, Gibbs heard the door behind him open. "Yes, Father?"

"Please escort the Special Agent out of here." Petersen said in a dangerous tone. "If you want anything else, _sir_…" Petersen hissed out the last word. "You can talk to my lawyers."

"This isn't over, Petersen." Gibbs said. "If you don't tell me what's going on, you might just have another son's funeral to prepare."

"GET OUT OF HERE THIS INSTANT!" Petersen roared. "AND IF I SEE YOU HERE AGAIN, I'LL MAKE SURE YOU WON'T SET FOOT IN MY CITY AGAIN!"

Michael led Gibbs out of the house, but once outside the house, the young man turned to Gibbs. "Its madness, I've been telling him that for years now."

"Do you know anything about this?" Gibbs asked. "Anything that can be of use to me?"

Michael looked around, as if to make sure no one was there to hear them. He turned back to Gibbs and said in a quiet voice, "After Father found out about Simon's death, he locked himself up in his room, talking to someone on the phone. All I heard was, 'It's Moon, I need to talk to Shadow'." He looked around again. "I think he's trying to get in touch with the Unknowns leader."

"Why?" Gibbs asked, curious.

"I don't know, but if you somehow can find out where they are meeting, I think you can find out who killed Simon."

"Why are you telling me this?" Gibbs asked. "You're betraying your family."

"I want an end to this war." Michael explained in a quiet voice, nearly whispering. "And, of course, I want to avenge Simon. I want his murderer in jail or the sea."

Knowing what the last comment meant, Gibbs nodded and turned towards his car. He hopped that Tony and Jonathan had some luck at the station as well.

**10.30 AM, Baltimore Police Station**

"DiNozzo… Jenkins… Just _what_ do you think you're doing?"

Turning his head around, Jonathan saw a man standing behind them. He was thin and tall; at least 6 feet. His red hair was tied up in a ponytail that hung down on his back.

He was _not_ Stern.

Jonathan sighed in relief. "Shit,Barney, you scared the Hell out of me!"

Barney chuckled and turned around. "Stern's on his way. You'd better get going before he catches you."

"Thanks a lot, Barn." Tony said to their fellow detective-friend. "I owe you another."

"What makes that now…?" Barney asked and counted on his fingers. "About… 300?"

Tony shrugged. "This is Baltimore?"

Jonathan rolled his eyes and Barney sighed. "Grow up, DiNozzo; no one even likes your movie comments."

"I like them, doesn't that count?" Tony replied.

"No!" Both Jonathan and Barney said.

Jonathan looked at his clock and swore. "We're supposed to be back in twenty minutes! Let's go, Tony!"

**10.59 AM NCIS Headquarters**

Gibbs sat at his desk, counting the seconds until the clock struck eleven.

'_10.59.55… 10.59.56… 10.59.57…'_

As if on cue, the elevator made its noise and Jonathan walked out, Tony behind him.

"…and you're even _worse_ than Gibbs when you're in a hurry! Next time…" Tony sat down at his desk. "_I'm_ driving!"

"So, how did it go?" Gibbs asked. He received a grim look from Tony before the younger man turned back to his partner.

"If you hadn't stopped to _small talk_ with Barney, we wouldn't have had to hurry like that!"

"Oh, _please_, it wasn't that horrible!" Jonathan answered.

"Hey, I was in a car with _him_!" Tony said and pointed towards Gibbs. "I know an insane driver when I'm _in a car with one_!!"

"Shut up." Gibbs said simply. Both men fell silent. "I'll try again; how did it go?"

"We deleted the files and almost ran into Stern." Jonathan said. "But he doesn't know."

"So what do we do now?" Gibbs asked.

"Tony goes back and we wait." Jonathan said. "Although I'm not feeling so good about it…"

"Come on, Jonathan, I'll be fine." Tony assured him.

"No, I am not coming on!" Jonathan said. "If anything happens, you'll most likely be killed!"

"He's right, DiNozzo." Gibbs said. "It was dangerous enough for you to go there alone the last time, and I'm not going to let you go on your own again."

"So, what then? We're going with him?" Jonathan asked.

"No way!" Tony said.

"It wasn't a request." Gibbs said. "We'll be waiting outside this place and if anything goes wrong, we're going in."

"Then how are we supposed to do that?" Jonathan asked. "They'll most likely check him for wires."

"I could use my phone." Tony suggested. "I can have it in my pocket and text you if anything goes wrong."

"It could work…" Jonathan said. "But just in case, take another phone with you and hide it if they check for phones as well." Jonathan took out his phone from his pocket and threw it over to Tony. "But you'll have to make sure you'll stay out of trouble!"

"Jon, look." Tony said. "I'm a big boy; I can take care of myself."

"Then start act like a big boy and get going!" Gibbs said. "We'll follow at a safe distance."

**11.30 AM, Downtown Baltimore**

Once again, Tony walked down the alley. As he saw the building he earlier had seen the three men, he was met by no one.

'_Where are they?'_ Tony thought. His question was soon answered as the doors opened and Guy number 3 stepped out.

"Have you accomplished your task?" he asked quietly.

"Yep." Tony said confidently. "They went down the trashcan."

Guy number 3 smiled slightly, showing a row of perfectly white teeth. "Good. You have proven yourself worthy enough to enter. Welcome in…" With that, he stepped back into the building. Tony followed.

It seemed as if the building had been a hotel in its former days. The entrance, that looked somewhat like a lobby, was huge, a counter stood at the far end of the room. Four elevators were located at each wall and a stair led up to another floor where Tony could see several tables.

"Are you sure we can trust you fully?" Guy number 3 asked.

"I told you; you can trust me!" Tony said.

"Then leave all your weapons and phones on the floor and slide them towards me."

'_Damn, he's good!'_ Tony thought, but soon corrected himself. _'Focus, Anthony! This isn't the time to compliment a mafia-guy!'_

He took put his gun and his phone, leaving Jonathan's where he had hidden it; in his shoe. _'Couldn't have thought of a better place to hide it?'_ Tony asked himself. _'It's not very comfortable.'_ He gently pushed the two object's over to the man with his foot and straightened himself. Guy number 3 took the gun and put on a silencer. _'Oh, f…! He's going to shoot me?! I'm too young to die!'_ Tony's mind panicked, but outside, he remained cool. Guy number 3 looked at Tony and grinned, and then he shot the phone. Tony sighed in relief.

"Didn't mean to scare you, kid." Guy number 3 said. "But you have to understand that we can't trust you completely yet."

"Ah, it doesn't matter." Tony assured him. "A phone's replaceable."

"Heh, I guess you're right." He reached out his hand. "I'm Marcus Smith, but around here, I'm called the Shadow." Tony took his hand and they shook once. "If you will just follow me, I'll show you the way to the others."

Tony followed Smith. It felt good to finally get a name on him; it was getting a little weird to call him 'Guy number 3' all the time. But there was something that felt unusually creepy about him. The Shadow… Why was Tony getting such a bad feeling from him?

Deep down, Tony wished Jonathan was there. It would have felt better if his partner had been there so that Tony could be sure that his suspicions were false.

**11.45 AM, Downtown Baltimore**

Gibbs sat behind the wheel of the car, Jonathan sat behind him. They had gotten a pretty good view of the Unknowns possible headquarters. But once that other man showed Tony in, Gibbs had gotten a gut feeling.

Something was about to go wrong. Terribly wrong…

_Authoress' note: Well, that's a record! Eight pages, 3000 words! Woot!!_

_Anyway, things are getting serious over in Baltimore. Will our hero's make it? Tune in next time on…_

_When the Moon Cries!_

_(Sigh… I've been watching too much 1960's Batman and Robin…)_


	8. COVER BLOWN

_Disclaimer in prologue_

_Warning! This chapter contains multiple swearing, mostly "Damn it", but some f-words as well. Okay, a __**lot**_ _of f-words! I guess I overdid it a little… You have been warned._

_And I'm sorry for the delay. I've had some writer's blocks, so I thought I'd take the week of, and I've been sick A LOT. I've had a cold; I've had the flu like five times and I could've sworn that my appendix hurt a couple of days ago. That's the weirdest since I had it removed six years ago! Well, on with the story, and I'm going to throw up now._

**Chapters 7, COVER**__**BLOWN**

**11.50 AM, Downtown Baltimore, the Unknowns Headquarters**

Tony followed quietly after Smith. The Hispanic man walked over to one of the elevators and pressed the button. Soon, the doors opened and the two men stepped in. Smith pressed a button and the elevator started moving.

"I'm taking you to meet the others," Smith said as the elevator stopped at the tenth floor. "Just act natural."

Tony panicked inside. How was he supposed to escape from the tenth floor if anything went wrong?

As the doors opened, Tony's arm was grabbed by two pairs of strong hands and pulled forward. Tony recognizedone of the men immediately as Paine. The other man was Guy number 2, his face still covered by a hood. But in the slightly better light, Tony could somehow remember him.

'_But from where?_' Tony thought as he was dragged across the floor and forced to sit down in a chair. In front of him, two men sat. A chair stood empty in the middle and Smith went and sat down on it.

"You will answer a few questions, and you will answer them truthfully," the man to Smith's right said. "Is that understood?"

"Yes," Tony answered.

"Are you Detective Anthony DiNozzo of the Baltimore Police Department?"

"Yes."

"Do you have anything to do with Michael Petersen, also known as the Moon?"

Tony remembered the note they had found on the crime scene. _When the Moon Cries…_

"No."

"Do you have any other connection to any of the Night Sky's members?"

"No."

"Are you sent here on a mission to infiltrate this place under orders by Police Captain Leo Stern?"

'_His first name's Leo?'_ Tony thought and could barely hold back his laugh. _'He doesn't look like a Leo!'_

"Mr. DiNozzo!" Smith's voice echoed in the small room. "Answer us!"

"No."

The three men in front of Tony exchanged looks before Smith stood. "The Council will retreat and discuss the matter. When we get back, you will know if you are worthy enough to call yourself an Unknown." With that, Smith, the two other men, Guy number 2 and Paine left through a door behind them, and Tony soon found himself alone.

'_I don't like this...'_ Tony thought and tried to get his phone out of his shoe. _'I really COULDN'T find a better place to hide this thing!'_

He took out the phone and opened a text message and quickly wrote down a couple of words.

J. C MAY B BLOWN. NEED . TEN F.

Hoping that his partner understood his message, he pressed send and bent over to hide to phone again. The second he straightened, the men walked into the room. But this time, Guy number 2 had removed his hood. Tony felt his heart stop.

"Barney…"

As the words left his mouth, the cold steel of a gun was pressed into the soft skin of his neck.

**12.00 AM, Downtown Baltimore, the Car**

Jonathan held his phone hard in his hand as he waited for anything at all that would indicate Tony was okay. He had given the younger detective his spare phone; Jonathan always had two on him, something that Tony had always commented on. Jonathan grinned. _'Heh, _that's_ why I have two, Tony.'_

As the phone vibrated, Gibbs, who was sitting to Jonathan's left behind the wheel, turned around to see the message. Jonathan read his partner's message.

"C may be blown…" he whispered. He then turned around towards Gibbs and said, "Tenth floor, we need to go _now_!"

Gibbs didn't need to be told twice. He opened the door and almost flew out, Jonathan a second behind him. As they made it to the building, the two men took out their guns and opened the doors. They immediately saw the elevators.

"It could be a trap," Gibbs said. "We're taking the stairs."

Jonathan growled low before running towards the stairs at an incredible speed. Opening the door, he ran up, taking the stairs in two at a time. Gibbs followed, hoping deep down in his heart that they weren't too late.

**12.02 AM, Downtown Baltimore, the Unknowns Headquarters**

"What do the police know about us? Tell me, damn it!"

Tony, his hands tied behind the back of the chair he was sitting on, received another hard punch as he didn't answer. He grimaced at the pain from Paine's punch and turned his attention back to the big man. "I didn't tell them anything." He narrowed his eyes and looked at Barney who stood at the far end of the room. "You'll have to ask him if he told 'em anything." Another punch landed on his jaw.

"This can soon end if you just tell us who you are working for," Smith said, standing by the window. "It's all up to you."

"I'm not working for anyone!" Tony gasped. He was sure that his nose was broken, and the blood ran freely down his face.

"Then what the fuck was Jenkins doing at the station with you when you were doing your…mission?" Barney said.

Tony looked up at his working partner and the man he thought of as a friend. "Piss of, Barn…" he mumbled and glared at him. He received another punch to the side of his face.

Smith walked over to Barney and the two talked in low voices, low enough for Tony to hear just what they were saying.

"Well? Is he going to talk?" Smith said.

"Not likely; he's pretty good at keeping quiet when he's not talking."

Tony heard Smith's growl and saw the man turn around, a grim look on his face. He walked up to the detective and griped his throat, not too hard, but hard enough to choke the other man.

"You're playing on the wrong _fucking_ side of the playground, _kid_!" Smith whispered. "And I don't like your game!"

Even though he was choking and his lungs were screaming for air, Tony stared up at Smith and the other man stared back. His throat hurt, and his chest hurt even more, but Tony didn't look away, didn't show that he was slowly dying. As white dots began to cloud his vision, Smith released his grip on the younger man's throat.

"DAMN IT!" he screamed as Tony breathed in. "TELL ME WHO KNOWS! TELL ME, OR I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU, RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!"

"Kill me, then," Tony said calmly. "There's no need to yell."

Smith screamed again and landed another, harder punch at the side of Tony's face. "DON'T TRY MY FUCKING TEMPER, YOU BRAT!"

Tony spat out a mouthful of blood and looked back at Smith, whose face was slowly turning red. "You'd better calm down; you might get a heart attack if you continue like this."

At that comment, Smith bent down to look Tony in his eyes. "You're going to be _really_ sorry you said that, _kid_!"

When Smith finished talking, Tony felt a piece of string slowly making its way down his neck. _'Feels like a string of a violin.'_ Tony thought, knowing what was about to happen.

The next second, the piece of string was pulled.

**12.04 AM, the Stairs**

Stairs, stairs, stairs... and some more stairs, of course.

Gibbs followed Jonathan as the two hurried up the stairs, gun still drawn. Gibbs counted the floors as they ran up.

'_Fourth… Fifth… Sixth…'_

As they reached the seventh floor, a scream was heard. Gibbs could only hear a few words.

_Tell_... _Kill you_… _Here_… _Now_…

Gibbs turned to Jonathan. The detective had turned really pale. He met the older man's gaze and whispered with a thin voice, "We have to get him out of there…" before he started to run up the stairs again.

**12.06 AM, Downtown Baltimore, the Unknowns Headquarters**

Two minutes had passed since the string had been pulled.

Two minutes without oxygen.

Two minutes where Tony's hopes slowly died. Like he also did.

His head hung down, touching his chest, trying desperately to draw air. The only thing that was heard from the dying detective was a weird noise at the back of his throat. He was reaching his limit, and he knew that.

He was reaching his end.

A hand grabbed his chin and forced his head upwards. Tony's eyes couldn't focus, but he swore that he could see Smith's grin, his lips moving.

"You see what happens when you try to trick the people who're above you?" Smith whispered gleefully. "You _die_. Eh? That's right, you _die_!"

Every second was painful, every second was Hell. Tony could barely look straight at this point. His eyes slowly began to drop, but he forced them up.

Forced his hopes up that Jonathan would come for him.

Losing the fight with himself, Tony closed his eyes, a chuckle echoing somewhere far away.

_Authoress' note: Sorry! I didn't mean for a cliffhanger, it just came!_

_Oh, and while I'm at it, thanks to that one person who liked 'My Immortal' enough to actually add it to said person's favorite list! I mean, I'm not even sure I like it ;-) Heh, well, I'm happy =D Thank you, Fiyero24!_

_And, since I have writer's block, I'm thinking about writing a one-shot about… Well, anything! Any idea about what I should writes, my o-so-faithful reviewers?_


	9. Authoress' note Sorry, no chapter D:

_Okay, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry that I haven't updated yet. Really, really sorry, like HUGE sorry. But things suck at the moment at home and there's just too much at school for me to handle and everything else that can go wrong has gone wrong. To make it short, I'm not feeling so good at the moment, I've been taking some anti-depressive medicines and… Well, I'm close to a nervous breakdown, and my psychiatrist has told me to get some rest. So, as soon as I can get this story finished, I'm taking a break. Hopefully not a long one, but it will be a couple of weeks._

_But my writer's block seems to have somewhat disappeared and I'm trying my best to finish chapter 8. But it may take some time. Please, have faith and patience; the chapter __**WILL**__ come, I can assure you that._

_And, for those who worry, you know I can't kill Tony; I tried it in NACT, and you saw how that went ;-)_


	10. The Sun Dies

_Tony: Wow, great, you've kept me practically __**dead **__for months. 'Bout time you updated!_

_H.F: Oh, don't start with me, mister! I'm the authoress of this story! I can kill you whenever I want to!_

_Tony: I'd like to see you try; this is a flashback story! You can't kill me!_

_H.F: …I can kill you in the next story!_

_Tony: Aw, come on, I thought I was supposed to m-_

_H.F: Shush! You're ruining to good part! I think the readers are getting impatient. On with the story!_

_Disclaimer in prologue_

**Chapter 8 … The Sun Dies**

**12.07 AM, Downtown Baltimore, the Unknowns Headquarters**

Jonathan was the first to reach the tenth floor, and also the first to realize the danger. Before Gibbs could reach the floor, the young detective had fired three shots, and another five as Gibbs came up.

In the room, three men lay on the floor, with two others running towards a door at the far end of the room. Another two sat against the wall, obviously in pain. In the middle of the room stood a chair; and in that chair sat…

"Tony!" Jonathan cried, and with a speed that seemed impossible for a man that had just run up ten flights of stairs, ran over to the other man, Gibbs at his heels. As he reached Tony, Jonathan noticed that the younger detective's head hung down, cheek touching his chest. The next second, he noticed the string wrapped around Tony's neck, and that the younger man wasn't breathing

"No, no, no…" Jonathan breathed as he pulled out a pocket knife from his jacket and cut the string and the ropes around his wrists. Immediately, the younger detective drew in a shaky breath and his eyelids fluttered slightly as Jonathan lowered him to the floor. Gibbs kneeled next to them, checking for a pulse. He nodded as he found one, and Jonathan gently shook his partner's shoulders in an attempt to wake him.

"C'mon, Tony, wake up," he said. When he got no response, other than Tony's irregular breathing, Jonathan took a deep breath. "Anthony DiNozzo! Wake up or I'll ram your car with my motorcycle the next time I see it, and we both know it's not going to be pretty if I do!"

Whether it was the threat or the loud yelling, Gibbs wasn't sure, but something made the young detective's eyes flutter open completely. Tony took a deep breath and coughed silently as Jonathan helped him sit up. "If you… do anything to my car-"

"You'll chop off a horse's head and put it next to my pillow, I know," Jonathan interrupted. "You okay, Tony?"

"Just peachy," Tony answered in a whisper. "You better…" Tony fell silent, staring at something behind both Jonathan and Gibbs, pale as a ghost. Before either of the other two men could say anything, the sound of the hammer of a gun being cocked was heard.

"Get up," a cold voice said from behind, and Jonathan and Gibbs slowly turned around. A Hispanic man stood there, the gun in his hand pointing at the three men on the floor. Gibbs, remembering one of those files that Tony had printed at the station, realized it was Smith. Behind him stood another man, his red hair tied back into a ponytail.

"Barney!" Jonathan exclaimed. "What the Hell are you doing here?!"

"Oh puh-lease," Barney laughed. "It's not rocket science; even DiNozzo figured it out."

"You were in on this…" Gibbs realized, earning him some half-hearted applause from the man behind the Hispanic man.

"So, theold guy can think and DiNozzo is rather smart," Barney said while he scratched his chin, looking amused.

"Enough with the small talk," the Hispanic man interrupted. "Get up, all of you."

Glaring daggers at his fellow detective, Jonathan stood, keeping a hand on Tony's shoulder as the younger man swayed slightly on his feet. Intending to keep his partner out of harm's way, Jonathan moved to stand in front of Tony, his muscular body covering the younger man. Gibbs stood up next to him, desperately trying to figure out a plan to get them out of this.

"Now…" Smith began as he looked over Jonathan's shoulder at Tony, who looked away. "Did you three really think you could fool me?"

"I don't know about the others, but I think I did a pretty good job," Tony mumbled behind Jonathan's back, causing Smith to cock the hammer of the gun once again. Tony immediately fell silent.

"You should've learned something from your movies, DiNozzo," Barney said. "It never ends well when you're involved with the mafia."

It was then that Gibbs perfect Marine hearing caught the sound of sirens. Apparently, Jonathan heard it as well, since the young detective quickly met Gibbs' eyes, as if asking, 'What the Hell?'

Gibbs looked away from Jonathan and back to Smith, determined to buy some time. "Did you kill Simon Petersen?" he asked. Smith laughed, actually seeming amused by that question.

"Well, that's a two-way question; if you're asking if I pulled the trigger, then yes. But if you're asking if I wanted the kid killed, then no."

"Then who did?" Gibbs asked, curious. The sirens were getting closer. Soon Smith would hear; then, the detectives and Gibbs would be screwed.

Again, Smith laughed. He was starting to sound like a maniac. "That's the fun part; it wasn't one of the Unknowns!"

"Then who did it?" Gibbs asked again. If they got out of herein one piece, Smith was going to jail for a long time.

His left eye twitching, Smith said in an exited whisper. "It was Moon… Moon!" He laughed again, almost dropping his gun. "It's fucking hysterical! Moon paid ME to kill his son!"

The three men wereshockedbythatstatement. "He's not that stupid," Gibbs exclaimed.

"Oh, but he is!" Smith nearlyshouted. "See, the kid didn't want to go into the "family business", if you get what I'm saying. So he had me whack him!"

"And I thought my old man was a pain…" Tony mumbled.

"Did you leave the note we found?" Jonathan asked. "What's the rest if it?"

"You found it?" Smith asked with a frown. "I thought I got rid of it."

"Nope," Jonathan said with a grin. "We found it. Or, well, a part of it."

"'When the Moon Cries, the Sun Dies'… That was the only kind of start signal I got," Smith explained. "When his guys delivered the message, I would whack his kid."

"'The Sun Dies'? The Sun being Simon Petersen?" Gibbs asked.

The Hispanic man ignored Gibbs' question. "All this would've worked out fine; Moon would'vebeen glad, the rest of Night Sky would've been glad, and I'd have been happy as a kid in a candy shop," Smith whispered. "But then you had to go and get involved in things that don't concern you, Special Agent Gibbs." The Hispanic man hissed the last words. "So now, things are bound to get nasty."

And then, everything went from bad to worse in a matter of seconds.

The door that Jonathan and Gibbs had entered burst open with a loud BANG! Gibbs had his weapon out as Smith growled, his finger squeezing the trigger of his gun. Before Barney could take his own gun out, Jonathan had pulled his out, and with a single shot, Barney was on the ground, a bleeding hole in his chest. Gibbs took a shot at Smith, but just before it hit him, the Hispanic man had shot two more bullets. The old agent felt the bullet rip through the flesh of his bicep, and grunted in pain. But Smith fell as well, and Gibbs turned to the two detectives.

A cry echoed between the walls of the room. Gibbs, being the only one left standing, fell to his knees. The pain became too much, and Gibbs blacked out.

_H.F: Wow that was something different._

_Tony: Yup, Gibbs passed out. That doesn't happen every day._

_H.F: Anyway, life's a mess for me at the moment; my dad's divorcing my stepmom, most likely meaning that we'll move back to a stinky little apartment in the middle of nowhere, none of my friend's will talk to me after I started going to a private high school and my mom's getting re-married… Sorry, I'll see you soon._


	11. What am I going to do now?

_Authoress' note: Wasn't that fast, eh? I didn't want to leave you another cliffhanger… :) Anyway, as I wrote in the last chapter, life is very… hard for me at the moment, but now that school's over (at least for the summer), I don't have to worry about that anymore. But on with the chapter! :D_

**Chapter 9, What am I going to do now?**

**12.30 AM, Downtown Baltimore**

When Gibbs woke up, he found himself in an ambulance, lying on a stretcher, staring up at the ceiling of the car. He sat up, grunting in pain as he did so, and grabbed his upper arm which was wrapped in bandages. Everything from the past few hoursreturned to him, and the old agent swung his legs over the side of the stretcher and stood up. He was outside the building again, his car standing where he had left it, only now surrounded by policemen, paramedics and ambulances. Careful not to cause anymore damage to his arm, Gibbs walked up to the next ambulance nearest him, hoping to find a paramedic to see if they had anything to tell him about the two detectives. He wasn't prepared to literally walk into the fat police captain.

"Special Agent Gibbs," Stern growled. "Care to explain what happened?"

"Care to explain how you got here?" Gibbs retorted sharply. "'cause I sure didn't want you here."

Stern growled at him again. "That's none of your business. But you'd better answer my question, or I'll-"

"Where are DiNozzo and Jenkins?" Gibbs interrupted, getting impatient. Stern fell silent, and his eyes wandered towards a nearby ambulance where a stretcher was being loaded on to it, a white sheet covering the person's face. Gibbs felt his heart sink to his knees, and herushed over, fearing the worst. He reached the ambulance, pushing away the paramedics as he did so, and removed the sheet.

"No…" Gibbs whispered, staring at the man on the stretcher. Stern walked up next to him and placed a hand on the agent's shoulder.

"It seems he was protecting DiNozzo right down to his last moments," the police captain said quietly. Jonathan's pale face was covered in blood, a bullet hole in his right temple. His eyes were closed, but Gibbs could still feel the piercing glare the young detective used to produce.

"Where's DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, fearing that he also was lying in an ambulance with a blanket over his still form. He shook his head, no longer wanting to see the image of the young man dead, and turned back to Stern.

"He's in the hospital; they took him there when we got here." Stern looked at Gibbs, actually seeming concerned. "You should get yourself checked at as well; that shot seems pretty nasty."

"It's nothing," Gibbs answered gruffly. "Which way to the hospital?"

"Look, he's probably going to be in surgery for a couple of hours," Stern said patiently. "You won't do any good just sittin' on your butt over there, so why don't you give us a hand in interrogation?"

"You got Smith?"

"Yup," Stern noddedinsatisfaction. "If not for his vest, you would've killed him with that shot." Gibbs nodded and the Captain continued. "I'll give ya a ride to station, and then you'll have Smith all for yourself. This mess you made will keep me busy for the entire day."

Again, Gibbs nodded. Hesearchedhispocketsforhisphone, but it wasn't there. Most likely the paramedics had it, but Gibbs didn't have to time to hunt his phone down.

"I need to make a phone call," he said to Stern. Stern rolled his eyes, butstartedsearching his own pockets. He pulledout a small black cell and handed it to the agent. "Appreciate it," Gibbs saidcurtlyashetookit.

"Whatever," Stern mumbled back. "Just meet me by the car when you're ready." With that, he walked away.

Dialling the numbers he knew by heart, Gibbs placed to phone to his ear, waiting impatiently for the person ontheotherend to pick up. One signal… Two signals… Thr-

'_You've reached Abby__'__s lab!' _Abby's cheerful voice reached Gibbs' ears, and he couldn't help but smile._'__If you want hear some of my music, press 1. If you__'__re Gibbs, you should press end, __'__cuz you need to learn to call me more often and you__'__re making me concerned here. If you want-'_

"Abs, just how many CafPows have you had today?" Gibbs cutin.

'_Gibbs, my fearsome leader!__'_ The music in the background turnedtomute. _'__Seriously, call me more often! What if something happened in Baltimore and I didn't know about it? Besides, it__'__s getting boring over here; there__'__s only Ducky to talk to, and he__'__s only talking about something that happened-'_

"Abs!" Gibbs interrupted again, impatience seeping through his tone. "Something _did _happen, and I want you and Ducky to-"

'_What happened? Are you okay?! What happened? If you got yourself into trouble again, I-__'_

"Abby!" Gibbs interrupted for the third time. This was getting annoying. "I'm fine; it's about detective DiNozzo."

'…_The Butt Guy?__'_

"He's in the hospital here in Baltimore," Gibbs explained, feeling guilt well up inside him. "He's been shot, I don't know how badly, and I want you and Ducky to go there and see if he's okay."

There was a minute of silence on Abby'send, before her voice piped up again. _'Are you sure you__'__re okay? __'__Cuz I__'__m not leaving til I__'__m sure!'_

Gibbs smiled, touched by Abby's concern. "I'm fine, Abs. Just, please… get to him."

'_I__'__m on my way, Bossman.__'_ With that, she ended the call, and Gibbs turned to Stern, who wasstandingby a police cruiser talking quietly to a police officer. As he got closer, Gibbs could make out onlya few words the two men wereexchanging.

"…ay, but he's…other hour," mumbled the officer.

"Make sure…stays," Stern mumbled back. "Don't want…interfere."

"…sir."

"And…when…up."

Gibbs cleared his throat loudly, and the two men looked up. Stern scowled and opened the door to the car.

"Get in," he said snappily. "The driver will take you to the station." Gibbs raised his eyebrows in silent question, and Stern sighed. "I'm coming in my own car, there's no need to worry," he said sarcastically. Scoffing**, **Gibbs sat down in the backseat of the car, and Stern shutthedoorafterhim. The car drove off, and Gibbs wondered just what the two policemen hadbeen talking about.

**1.00 PM, Baltimore Police Station**

The two cars had gotten delayed in traffic, and Gibbs' mood was something that no man should be exposed to. Smith was in for a hard time.

Gibbs growleddarkly, and pushed open the doors to the station, almost knocking over his driver. "Where's Smith?" he shotat Stern, whohadbeenfollowingbehindhimsilently. Stern pointed towards a hallway to their right.

"Over there, third door on the left."

Gibbs, notbotheringtowaitforthepolicecaptain**, **stormed towards the room. He entered with a face like thunder, eyesnarrowing as he caughtsightof Smith sitting at the table. The Hispanic man recoiled, suddenly seeming frightened of the agent, aswell he should be.

"S-special Agent Gibbs," Smith greeted shakily, trying to seem untouched by Gibbs's anger. "Why, I thought you'd gone to the hospital with DiNozzo! How is he, by the way?"

"Shut up," Gibbs snapped harshly. "You'reabouttobelockedup for a long time, so Isuggestyoustarttalking."

Smith glared angrily at Gibbs, who stared backathimicily. Afteramoment, the Hispanic man sighedandturned away, beginningtorecounthistale: how Michael Petersen hadasked him to kill his son; how he had rammed the younger Petersen's car of the road; and how he had beentheonetopull the trigger.

"Who was the other kid in the car with Simon Petersen?" Gibbs questionedstonily.

"He was one of my own," Smith explained inasubduedtone. "It was his duty to draw Petersen out of town so that I could kill him." He looked away, seemingsuddenly angry. **"**Hisscullwassmashedin when I rammed their car."

"Name?"

"Why should I tell you?" Smith snapped. "It's not important!"

"It is now, seeing your reaction," Gibbs replied calmly, the reaction Smith hadshowed interesting him.

"He… was a young recruit," Smith answeredreluctantly "Didn't even give anyone his real name; everyone knew him as Star." The Hispanic man looked awayagain. "I really liked him."

Surprised at the sudden weakness shown by the Hispanic man, Gibbs frowned. "Star?"

"Like any other member of the Unknowns, he had a nickname, okay?" Smith saidangrily. "Like the Night Sky, as well."

"Wh-" Gibbs couldn't finish his sentence, as a young police officer opened the door to the interrogation.

"Sir?" he asked. "Phone for you." When Gibbs raised his eyebrows, the officer visibly tensed, preparing for the coming rage. "I… the c… he… she-"

"Who," Gibbs brokeinimpatiently.

"A… Abigail Sciuto, sir," the officer gulped. Gibbs strode over and took the phone, glaring angrily at the young man. "I'm sorry for interrupting you, sir, but I was told to give it to you."

Placing the phone to his ear, Gibbs walked out of the room. "Talk to me, Abs."

'_Hey, Gibbs! We finally got permission to see the detective!__'_

"How is he? What did the doctor say?"

'_A lot of medical stuff. I didn't understand a bit.__'_

"Didn't Ducky translate?"

'_Yup, he did. Thank God for the Duckster. He__'__s so awesome.__'_

"…Abby?"

'_Right. DiNozzo's been out of surgery for the last 45 minutes, and hopefully he'll wake up soon. He took two bullets; both in his shoulder.__'_ Gibbs felt his heart sink. _'__But he__'__s going to be okay; the doctor said that the most life threatening was the____bullet____that nicked an artery, but it wasn't super serious.__'_

Gibbs sighed in relief. "That's good news."

'_Yeah, I know. But you know what__'__s really weird? I think that Stern guy is here.__'_

"What?!"

'_He got into DiNozzo__'__s room half an hour ago - but he__'__s out for a smoke now, __'__cuz DiNozzo__'__s not awake yet - and he looked mad!__'_

"Make sure he doesn't get in, Abby!" Gibbs ordered, heading towards the exit door. "His being there isn't good. I'm coming." He closed the phone before Abby could answer and stalked out of the police station. He immediately saw his driver, still standing by the car, and walked up to him.

"You," he said, pointing at the officer. "Drive me to the hospital." Before the other man could argue, Gibbs raised a finger. "If you don't, I'll bring you in onchargesofobstructingFederalJustice**.**" The officer sighed inresignation**, **opened the door to the car and got in.

Sitting in the backseat of the car, Gibbs felt the worry build up inside him. Why would Stern go to the hospital to see DiNozzo? Hadn't he said he would be busy?

**2 PM, Baltimore, the Hospital**

Entering the hospital, Gibbs immediately made his way to the nurse's station. "Where's detective DiNozzo's room?" he asked one of the nurses.

"I'm sorry, sir, I-"

"Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS," Gibbs interrupted curtly, flashing his badge. "My colleagues are already here."

"Fine," the nurse said, looking around and sounding stressed. "Room 502, over that way."

Gibbs nodded curtly and headed towards the room the nurse had pointed out, intent on finding Ducky and Abby. As he walked past room 500, he noticed a teenager standing to the side, looking extremely nervous, his hazel hair a bushy mess and his face ghostly pale. As Gibbs walked up, the boy looked down the hall as if searching for someone. Apparently not finding whomever he was searching for, he shrugged and turned around, almost walking into Gibbs in the progress.

"Ah!" the teenager exclaimed in surprise. "I'm sorry, sir!"

"Don't be," Gibbs reassured. "It was-" He fell silent when he caught the eyes of the teenager, eyes as hazel as the hair on his head. Gibbs had seen an identical pair of eyes before… but where?

"I… I have to go," the teenager mumbled, breaking the startled moment of silence, and made his way past Gibbs, heading towards the elevator. Gibbs shrugged mentally, brushing the encounter from his mind, and continued walking towards room 502. He hadn'tbeenwalking for long when something ran into him andwrappedtheirarmsaroundhismidsection.

"Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs!" Ittookthe olderagent amomentto realize it was Abby. "You said you weren't hurt!"

"I'm not, Abby," Gibbs repliedinannoyance. "Whe-"

"Then why is your arm in bandages?" Abby released him and poked at his chest, examining at his arm. "You said you weren't hurt!!"

"Abigail," Ducky's voice was heard. "It's obviously nothing bad." The M.E stepped into Gibbs' line of vision, smiling reassuringly.

"Listen to Ducky, Abs," Gibbs said, patting her armgently. "How's the detective? And where's Stern?"

"Not back yet," Abby answeredpromptly**,** and Gibbs nodded insatisfaction.

"I'm going in," Gibbs said resolutely. "You know if he's awake yet?"

"No idea, Jethro," Ducky repliedsoftly. "But the anesthesia will probably wear out soon."

Gibbs sighed, the feeling of guilt somewhat disappearing. He opened the door and, Abby and Ducky behind him, walked into the room.

The young detective lay on a bed in the room, eyes closed, breathing slowly. Dark bruises were already forming on his pale face, and Gibbs regretted immediately that he hadn't been faster in rescuing him.

"Gibbs!" Abby squealed frombehind him and rushed over to the detective's side. "What'veyoubeenup to??"

"Abby-" Gibbs began.

"And where's detective Jenkins?" Ducky quicklycutin. "Wasn't he with thetwoofyou?"

Gibbs saw Jonathan's pale, bloody face in front of him, and suddenly felt weak. Sitting down, he sighed and told the two what hadhappened. After telling them about Jonathan's death, Abby gasped loudly**.** "No!"

"Does detective DiNozzo know yet?" Ducky asked sadlyas Abby sat down in a chair at Tony's side, quietly sobbing.

"I don't think so," Gibbs sighed. "He was unconscious after the shooting, and if he didn't wake when Stern was here, he probably doesn't know yet."

_He heard voices. Voices talking, voices whispering, voices crying. Who was crying?_

"And I don't want that bastard Stern to tell him," Gibbs continued gruffly. "I want to be the one."

_Was that Gibbs? Why was he there? And what did he want to say?_

A scoff was heard from the doorway. "I'm a bastard, eh?" Gibbs turned around and saw Stern standing there, still stinking of the cigarette smoke. "I'd say you're the biggest bastard of the two of us."

"What are you doing here?" Gibbs asked, anger beginningtoswell. "I thought you said you were busy!"

"I came to see my detective. What are you doing here?"

_Was Stern there as well? Shit, he had to wake up now. If only his eyelids weren't so heavy__…_

"Spare me the bullshit," Gibbs snapped. "Why are you really here?"

"Jethro-" Ducky started.

"Don't you use your federal crap on me!" Stern snappedback.

"Why are you here?!" Gibbs roared and stood up, knocking over his chair in the progress.

"'Cuz the kid screwed up, that's why!" Stern yelledjustasloudly.

_And now they were screaming as well. He can__'__t sleep with all this noise. Almost there__…_

"Gibbs!" Abby exclaimed. "D-"

"And don't get me started on what you did, Special Agent Gibbs!" Stern snarled. "You took two of my detectives, and went on a rampage downtown!"

"They came of their own will!" Gibbs saidthroughclenchedteeth. "I didn't force them to do anything, and I didn't go on a rampage!"

"Well, you did something bad, and if you-"

"Jethro!"

"-hadn't been so keen on taking on Smith on your own-"

"Gibbs! DiNozzo-"

"-Jenkins wouldn't have died!" Stern finished angrily.

"Jonathan's dead?" a weak voice came from the bed. Tony was awake, moving to sit up in his bed, wincing in pain as he moved his injured arm. "He's dead?"

Gibbs felt his heart sink as he saw the pain in the young detective's eyes, replacing the joy they always radiated with. "Tony, I…" Gibbs couldn't finish the sentence. This wasn't how he had wanted the younger man to find out.

"Yeah," Stern said coldly. "He's dead, and it's your fault."

Tony paled even more, and placed his head in his good hand, letting Ducky and Abby lay him down in his bed again. Gibbs, angerataboilingpoint, grabbed Stern's collar and dragged the Captain out of the room. Getting one last view of Tony's face, a silent tear running down his cheek, Gibbs closed the door with a slam.

**A few days later**

**11.45 AM, Baltimore Police Station**

Tony cleaned out his desk, placing the objects in a cardboard box. Beside him, another detective stood, desperately trying to talk the younger detective out of leaving. Tony barely listened, his mind focused on filling the cardboard box without causing any injury to his right arm, which was now in a sling due to the gunfight a couple of days earlier.

"Come on, Tony!" the other detective said desperately. "You can't leave after one bad case! It's just-"

"Joe," Tony interrupted tiredly. "I've almost been killed by the mafia, Jonathan _was _killed, Stern's pissed at me, and I have a pretty good guess everyone else blames me for Jon's death as well."

"You never listened to Stern, so why start now?" Joe asked. "It's not too late to change this!"

"It is to me," Tony said quietly. "I… just don't know how I could stay here another day."

Joe sighedresignedlyand embraced the ex-detective, careful not to cause his friend any pain. "Whatever you think is best. Just promise me you'll give me a call if you get in trouble? Knowing you, I'll hear from you every other day."

"Sure," Tony said, breaking out of the hug withagrin. "And I don't get into trouble that often."

"You'd better get going," Joe said, sitting down at his own desk. "Stern's never been the kind of guy who likes to wait."

Tony took the cardboard box under his good arm and walked over to the captain's office in silence. Opening the door, he found the captain standing with his back turned to Tony, staring out the window.

"I'm leaving now, captain," Tony said. "Just wanted to let you know."

"Just go," Stern replied, still standing with his back to Tony.

"See ya, Leo," Tony said quietly. Stern turned around just before Tony closed the door, and the younger man could see a small black eye forming on the Captain's eye. Smiling, Tony closed the door behindhimand left the station.

Outside inthe station's parking lot, Gibbs stood waiting by Tony's car. The older man held a few papers in his hand, but Tony didn't care. All he wanted to do was get into his car and hit the road.

"Special Agent Gibbs," Tony greeted as he approached said agent. "Haven't seen you in a couple of days."

Gibbs shrugged. "Had to go back to DC," he explained, a grin on his face. The grin soon turned to a frown as he saw the cardboard box Tony had under his good arm. "You sure you should be lifting heavy objects like that?"

"It's nothing, Gibbs," Tony said carelessly. He placed the box on the roof of his car and opened the door to the backseat, dropping the box inside. "I can take care of myself."

"I take it that you resigned?" Gibbs saidbywayofreply, looking at the younger man's belt where his gun had been when the two had first met.

"Yeah," Tony saidwithasigh. "I didn't think I'd be able to go back after Jon…" He fell silent, suddenly looking sad. "It would've been Hell with Stern, anyway."

"So where are you heading now?" Gibbs asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I don't know," Tony mused. "Maybe south. The chicks there are supposed to be awesome."

"Nah," Gibbs uttereddismissively. "You're not a southern boy, DiNozzo."

Tony sighed. "Look, I'm not the kind of person who can get a job wherever he wants, or findaplacewhere people will want to stick up forhim, so I-"

"I know a place," Gibbs interrupted calmly. "Where at least three people will stick up for you."

Tony frowned, not sure what Gibbs was getting at. The older man handed the papers in his hand to Tony, who looked them throughwarily. When he looked up again, he was smiling.

"You're offering me a job?"

Gibbs shrugged. "You have the experience, you're qualified in the field; you'd make an excellent agent."

Tony grinned withsuddenhope. "That's it?"

"Be at the Naval Yard 0800 hours next Monday, or I might change my mind," Gibbs said withahiddengrin**,** and reached out his hand. Tony grinned back**, **takingGibbs'shandawkwardlywithhisuninjured, left hand.

What the two didn't know was that, in that moment, a very special friendship was born.

_Authoress' note: Aw, how cute! Well, one more chapter to go! Stay with me!_


	12. Caught

_Authoress' note: Okay, who kidnapped my muse?! I just want to know if she's alive! Send me a finger, and I'll pay the ransom! Or else I can't write!!_

**Chapter 10, Caught**

**NCIS Headquarters, the Bullpen, 8:37 P.M, June 10****th**

Timothy McGee sat at his desk, writing up on his report on the last case. The empty desk at his left was a constant reminder of Tony's absence; the joyful atmosphere the older agent had always exuded was something the entire team had become accustomed to. Even Kate missed him, though she wouldn't put it in words; she kept glancing over at his desk every now and then, sorrow written in her eyes.

The two had been sitting in silence for a couple of hours typing on their computers, when a young man entered the Bullpen. He seemed exhauster, as if he had just run several miles.

"Anthony DiNozzo," he said. "Where is he?"

Kate and McGee looked at each other briefly before McGee answered, "Not here."

"It's quite obvious that he _isn't here_," the man said irritably. "Look, it's important that I know where to find him."

"Who are you, and why is it so important for you to find him?" Kate asked.

The man sighed and ran a hand through his black hair. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he revealed a police badge. "Joe Andersen, Captain of the Baltimore Police Department." With a quick movement of his hand, he opened the badge. "I have reason to believe that Tony is in danger. _Now _can you tell me where he is?"

**Gibbs' house, the Basement, 8:45 P.M.**

"What a cute story."

Both Gibbs and Tony turned towards the staircase at the sound. The door leading to the remainder of the house was open, and a light shone in through it. A man stood in the doorway, pointing a gun at the two of them and staring down at them with his clear grey eyes, his dark skin practically glowing in the light.

Smith.

"Here I was, going to just try to kill the detective in his sleep," Smith said, slowly starting to walk down the stairs. He stopped on the last step. "But then I changed my mind."

Gibbs quickly made sure Tony was behind him and out of Smith's range before he decided to speak. "Changed it to what? You decided to kill both of us?"

Smith stood silent for a moment, looking at the older agent. And the he said, just above a whisper, "No."

Gibbs couldn't help but be shocked at that statement. _Either he's hoping to get out of here in a body bag, _Gibbs thought, _Or he's actually not here to kill Tony._ Gibbs stayed silent, waiting for the Hispanic man to continue.

"I… escaped from prison," Smith said slowly, as if searching for the right words. "I was _so _set on revenge-" he looked at Tony, who looked angrily back at him. "-when I heard someone killed Moon."

"Someone killed Michael Petersen?" Gibbs asked. "I thought you two were enemies."

"We were, we were…" Smith said, nodding. "But I also found out that his pal-" Smith pointed at Tony with the gun, and Gibbs once again moved in front of him. "-Stern was the one who killed him."

"Captain Stern?" Tony exclaimed. "No way!"

"Yes way," Smith sighed.

"Why would he have done that?" Gibbs asked, eyes narrowing. "He had no reason to-"

"Oh, but he had," Smith interrupted. "You see, I found out who Star was."

"Star?" Tony asked, but was ignored by the other two.

"Star, you see, was Andrew Stern," Smith said, "The captain's son."

The statement was met with silence from the other two men in the basement, Gibbs too shocked to answer, and Tony trying to figure out what the two were talking about.

"And when Leo-" Smith started, but was interrupted by Tony's sudden snickering. "-found out that his kid was dead, he went and put a bullet through Moon's skull."

"He's _so _not a Leo!" Tony snickered. "He's just not!"

"Whatever," Smith said. "My _point _is that he's out there!"

"And what's that got to do with us?" Gibbs asked. He could hear a car driving on the street outside. "And why did you escape from prison?"

"Stern's lost it," Smith stated. "He went completely nuts, according to my guys. He left a day or so after he did," Smith gestured with his head towards Tony. "And tried to take out the rest of the Night Sky. And now, someone killed his other kid. Knowing the former Captain, he's probably as crazy as he can get."

"Again, what does that have to do with us?" Gibbs asked stiffly. Smith shrugged.

"Guess there's a good guy in me deep down. Stern hated DiNozzo. Who knows if DiNozzo's next? Where ever Stern is now, he may be coming here."

"You don't know where he is?"

Smith laughed, hard and insanely. "I've been in a bloody prison for two years, thanks to you two! I wouldn't even have known if my own guys have gone somewhere!"

"So you escaped from prison just for this?" Tony asked. "Just to warn us of Stern?"

"Yes," Smith whispered. "I'm turning myself in after this." He shrugged. "I guess I just wanted to do something good before they put me in the chair."

"And this is the perfect opportunity," a new voice broke into the conversation. Smith turned around, and both Gibbs and Tony turned their heads towards the new stranger standing at the top of the stairs, gun pointed at Smith. "You know the drill; drop your weapon, hands were I can see them, etc, etc." The stranger's black hair was standing in every direction, and he looked somewhat exhausted.

"Joe," Smith said politely. "How de-"

"Now!" Joe snapped.

Smith sighed and dropped his gun with a metallic _CLANK_, placing his hands behind his head. As Joe walked down the stairs, gun still locked on Smith, Tony stood up.

"Mr Andersen," he said slowly. "We've missed you."

"Shut up with the Matrix talk or I'll shoot you," Joe replied as he cuffed Smith.

"What? No tearful reunion?" Smith mumbled quietly. "Thought you missed the kid."

"I'll shoot you too if you don't shut up," Joe snapped. Turning back to Tony, he added, "I thought I told you to stay out of trouble."

"And I thought you knew me," Tony said with a grin.

"Obviously not," Joe said under his breath. "He didn't cause you any trouble, did he, Special Agent Gibbs?"

"DiNozzo or Smith?" Gibbs asked, earning a half-hearted grin from Joe. "Because, compared to Tony, Smith's been like a kitty."

"Hey!" Tony exclaimed. "I'm right here!"

"Annoying, isn't he?" Joe sneered, a small twinkle in his eyes. But it soon disappeared. "Take care of him. I don't want to come back and see him hurt again." With that, he left the basement, a firm grip on Smith's cuffed hands.

"I can take care of myself!!" Tony called after him.

"No, you can't!" Joe called back, and before Tony could answer, the door upstairs was slammed shut and the car outside drove off, leaving Gibbs and Tony in silence. They looked at each other, the things Smith had said still hanging in the air.

'_Who knows if DiNozzo's next?'_

_Finished_

_Authoress' note: Oh, God! I am _so _not pleased with that ending... Well, stay tuned for the sequel! And don't forget...._

_GIVE ME BACK MY MUSE!!!!_

_+Review. They're chocolate for my missing muse, and if I big a large pile, maybe she'll come back willingly. She's a chocolate addict ^^_


End file.
